Orange and Blue Hue » Gator Named SEC Frosh of Year

Gator Named SEC Frosh of Year

After an entire season of witnessing talented freshman like Vandy’s A.J. Ogilvy, the polling results are in. (Drum roll, please!) And your SEC Freshman of the year is:

No, it’s a tie! Nick Calathes and Patrick Patterson split the vote!

In a season filled with somewhat greater conference parity, given our championship roster’s massive departure, it’s fitting that more than one guy won the award. The pair are as different as night and day. One is a point forward accumulating solid all-around stats, the other a power forward who can score and rebound on anyone, anytime. One was offered a scholarship as a high school sophomore, the other was engaged in a vicious recruiting debate. One had a big man to pass the ball to, the other was indeed the big man.

Do not underestimate what happened; the event is dripping with symbolism. Tennessee might be a Final Four team now, but UF and UK have built up solid classes and have positioned themselves for the future.

Gentlemen, let the nonstop debates begin…now!

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Congrats to Nick… his play was one of the few bright spots of this season. He will be a great one for us.

The AP awarded Calathes solo as Newcomer of the Year…

And voted him a second team all conference spot…

The only UF player to be named to it…

That’s sayin’ somethin’, given that Speights wasn’t there (assuming it refers to both teams).

Yes…

Calathes was the only UF player named to AP 1st/2nd team All-SEC…

No other UF player even scored an honorable mention…

That is because your team sucks.

Yeah, well UGA (you know, the SEC tourney champs) told me they thought we were pretty good!

I can’t believe Adam Allen didn’t make all SEC….what a travesty. He lead the league is multiple categories:

1) Most turnovers to FG ratio
2) Most fouls per minutes played
3) Most turnovers in a 30 second span.

skiboat69,

Your team sucks! NIT!

So? UK’s also played in the NIT before!

Florida’s one of those “tweener” type of basketball programs - not enough credentials to make it a basketball program, too many for opponents to seriously ignore.

I think a high NIT seeding, maybe even an NIT title, is a good start for these guys. Important to come away with something serious here.

These guys could very well trade a trip to Florida Gym to a trip to Madison Square Garden if they buy into Donovan’s message. There’s an upside.

Your team does not suck! You have a very good, but young team that will only improve with time. Sounds a lot like the team that won it all 2 years in a row. The more they play together, the better they will get. And I do agree that UK and Florida both have good futures, but I think the SEC in all will be good. The SEC as a whole was down this year compared to years past, however, there is a lot of good young talent and new coaches that look very good as well. Good luck in the future.

Of course the SEC is down this year, how could it not be when it has had the national champ the past two years. I think the tourney will show it’s not as down as people think. I think Calathes is a good player, but I also think he is a punk and a bad sport. In a way I’m glad because it gives me someone to root against for the next four years. I hate to say it, but sense I lived in portland for two years I really liked Corey Brewer and most of the past Florida teams(meaning past two years). calathes reminds me of the Walsh and Dupay days…days of the punks as I call it. Calathes is a good shooter, sometimes, but not half as good as he thinks. Plus he’s too soft to ever be a legit pro player. If I were Billy D, I would tell him he has to take five shots in the paint before he can shoot a three or I’m pulling him. He’s too much mike miller right now. He’s tall and is usually matched up with a guard…use your size…punish a smaller player on the block…quit trying to be Dirk and keep your mouth shut until you accomplish something in the league. He’s not half the prospect Patrick is right now, or half as mature either. He could not cut it for Billy G with his attitude.

You lived in Oregon? Dang. I thought you’d be more of a Mike Dunleavy fan.

It’s awfully far to root for somebody from Portland, Tennessee…oops.

I’ll cover the idea of Calathes as a point guard in a later post. But if he could obtain a fraction of the athleticism of, say, a Kobe Bryant (really seeing glass half full here), he’d be scary down inside.

As for punks in the Donovan era, I’m surprised that you left Christian Drejer of your list.

I still don’t understand why Florida fans dislike Jason Williams. He’s still my favorite Gator, him and Corey.

When someone like Jason makes his antipathy of his teammates known in public, fans don’t exactly take it too well.

Which reminds me, I don’t know why you guys have so many issues with Pitino.

Oh yeah, he took drugs. Student-employees in a well known family-friendly town like Gainesville send a bad message to kiddies.

Vince - that’s funny.

In all seriousness, Pitino is a heartless whore.

We don’t like Williams because he was never really a Gator. He was selfish and and thug. Look at him now - nothing has changed. Also, he was as dumb as a box of rocks.

You can hate on Calathes all you want, but he was probably the best point in the SEC this year as a true freshman. He racked up 193 assists….as a freshman. That is a pretty amazing feat. If he had a little more talent around him (which he will next season) he wouldn’t have to shoot s many threes.

Is it a bad thing to be “too much like Mike Miller?” Miller has done pretty well for himself as far as I can see.

Calathes is not a punk at all. He is just a competitor. Watch him after the game - it’s hugs all around from the opposing team’s players. They all respect him because he has game. You wouldn’t see that from a player that is not respected.

You just hate him because he is good and because of the way he looks. I always think of “the Shermanator” character from the American Pie series.

Billy G would be elated to have a player like Calathes to run his offense for the next 3 years. I would bet money on it.

I don’t give a flip about drugs as such; but to me Williams committed the cardinal sin of an athlete - he screwed over his team-mates, just as Drejer and Marcus Thomas did.

And I’m sorry, but anyone who says ‘has too much Mike Miller’ as a criticism has no standing to talk about UF players.

There’s no question Calathes is a special talent. Any time rival fans come over here hating on him I take it as a sign of respect. Punk, thug… give me a break. He’s a class act.

Besides, the punk/thug category is defined by Ramel Bradley. You can add “flop artist” as well.

No Calathes is a punk who tries to take cheap shots on people. I wouldn’t want him on my team, he reminds me of a big baby with a horrible fade. At least he has hair though, his brother is already going bald. Plus he’s non existent in the clutch.

By the way, Mike Miller used to be a favorite of mine to. But he, like Calathes, is way too soft to be that tall.

Non-existent in the clutch, Daniel? I seem to remember his free throws putting away your toothless senior-laden team in overtime. :)

Thanks for the hate. We know he’s a good player too. Keep reading…

Oh, you mean the game when he threw an elbow into Bradley’s back that the refs just happened not to see…yeah…class act…he’s a good NIT level player…

of course…..lest you forget that every Kentucky loss is because of the refs and bad calls?!?!!?

It’s a conspiracy that everyone else in the country is in on.

Get used to seeing Calathes - you got 3 more years of him. It’ll seem like he’s played as long as Gimel Martinez when it’s all over.

I’m sure we’ll see a lot of him because there’s no way he’s going pro early or ever

One more thing on Calathes - before his career is over, he will have more assists than any SEC player in history….even including the UK teams from the 40s.

This year as a FRESHMAN he logged 193 assists. That is in addition to leading the team in scoring. Both stats are incredible.

Do you know how many UK players have logged 193 assists in a season? This is all-time now…..

3. Anthony Epps and Travis Ford both matched the 193 number in their SENIOR seasons (they had nowhere near that mark until their final seasons) and Roger Harden logged an amazing 232 his senior season in 1985-86.

The UK freshman season assist record is held by Dirk Minnifield (also the all-time assists record holder at UK). That was in 1979-80. The number? 126. Plus, he was dishing to players like Sam Bowie and Kenny (sky) Walker instead of Speights and Dan Werner.

Yeah, I’m sure you wouldn’t want Calathes.

Props to bigbluehistory.net - a fantastic website for UK stats.

That’s a great statement - it’s right up there with those Tebow haters who say “he’s not even going to be in the NFL”

Lucky for us, the Gators don’t play pro sports.

I suppose Tebow is just a thug too, though. You probably wouldn’t want him either.

For some reason, Daniel…

I bet Nick signs a better NBA deal than you did…

Ouch Gator hippy, that was real relevant. By the way, what’s the special at Micky D’s today? Are they keeping you busy behind the register? Isn’t that what happens to two-year college football players…or more like two year college scrubs? Were you even able to earn a degree? doubtful.
SKI, all those assists and still no NCAA bid. Of course we’ll probably get drilled tomorrow by a better team but at least we’re dancing. Stats and records don’t amount to much, it’s all about winning. By the way, how many of his assists came against scrubby schools? I bet more than 70 percent.

Wow, Dan…

Are you that stupid?

Everybody knows hippies don’t work…

or screw

That is a valid question Dan. Out of his 193 assists, 103 came during SEC play. I will assume those are all worthy opponents since the worst team in the conference won the tourney.

So over 53% of the assists came against non-scrubby teams. I will give you the benefit of the doubt that all our other 16 games were against less than stellar opponents. In fact all his major stats (points, boards and dimes) all increased during SEC play.

I don’t really think making the tourney defines your season as a success or not. UF would be in if we would have won 1 or 2 more games, but that wouldn’t have made the season that much better.

We are in a rebuilding year and will be better next season. Bank on it. Calathes is good - bank on that too.

Kadji is coming and he hates UK.

Just as remarkable - he did all of that WHILE being the team’s leading scorer, so people can’t criticize him for being a ball hog.

At his current pace, he’ll finish with 2000 points, 600 rebounds, 800 assists, and 200 steals in four years. These numbers do not include either postseason stats or potential improvement in future seasons.

He could go down as the most versatile player in Florida history.

On the contrary, Daniel…

We get to screw all the time…

It goes along with the whole “living in the moment” idea…

Apparently you’re not real well versed in the nuances of countercultural society…

And also the most disapointing if they don’t make any tournaments. Kadji? Sounds like the name of a bear at a zoo or something. He should hate UK,cos most of us wouldn’t know how to pronunce his name…lol…all the national hatred continues to show one thing…us uneducated…hillybilly…redneck racists, as we are called, from Kentucky, still own college basketball…not NY, not Florida…not anywhere but the good ole bluegrass state…As much as you may be looking forward to next year, Uk fans have more to look forward to. If we are completely healthy next year, we’ll finish in the top ten. Any predictions on who will have more fans in Florida for the SEC tourney next year? Us or Florida? Speaking of animals, Gatorhippy, what you do with sheep and other farm animals is not really relavent. I can’t believe you get internet in your van down by the river.

LMAO…

In Daniel’s world…

Owning College Basketball = Zero titles in ten years…

Is Notre Dame your neighbor on that planet?

Dan, btw…

They have such a thing a “wireless” internet in the modern world…

No worries, though…

It should arrive in KY in about twenty years…

The state that elected Jed Bush governor calling us stupid…sigh…In the last ten years we did something that no Florida team has ever or will ever do…go undefeated in the SEC…and when you refer to Notre Dame are you speaking of the same school that has more bowl victories and national titles than Florida?

Correct, Florida actually IS a state…

Yes, that’s exactly whom I am referring to…

So they are your neighbors then?

I always wondered what happened to them…

Actually, Dan, Florida went undefeated in the regular season in 1995 before losing to Nebraska in the NC game. Same type of thing in 1996, only we lost to ACC power FSU in the regular season.

You know I’m talking about b-ball Vince. You guys are a dynasty in football, no arguing that, unfortunately.

You can go ahead and pencil in UF for the tourney next year. Y’all might have an easier time pronouncing Vargas than Kadji. They are going to be the big freshmen duo who come in to wear down Pittypat next season so Speights can work him silly down the stretch…

This season will probably be less than memorable for both our hoops teams this season. Assuming UK falls in the first round, I think a one and done won’t be much to cheer about in the bluegrass state.

Next season should be better.

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